Improvement in clasps



1 F. B. BROWN; Clasps,

No. 206,388. i Patented July 30,1878.

F. BARTON BIiOlVN, OF BOSTON, MASSACI'IUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN CLASPS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 206,388, dated July 30, 1875?;

application filed June 6, 1878.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, F. BARTON BROWN, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Clasps, of which the following is a full,.clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanyin g drawings, making a part hereof.

My invention consists in a double clasp composed of three levers hinged together by a pin, and provided with proper springs and teeth, the whole being so arranged that two sets of griping-jaws will be formed, one at each end of the clasp.

The best form of double clasp embodying my invention is shown in the drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view Fig. 2, a side view; Fig. 3, a section; Fig. 4, a plan, and Fig. 5 an end view.

The other views show details.

a a are two outside levers, made from the blanks shown in Figs: 7 and 9, alike, except that one, a, is a little wider than the other, a, in order that its ears 0 may overlap the ears 0 of the other in the finished clasp, as shown in Fig. 5. This, however, is not necessary. a and a might be made exactly alike in every way, and in that case one of the ears of each lever would be within and one outside the clasp. These levers a a have teeth at one end, as shown, the other or rear end being adapted for use as a finger-piece to assist in opening the clasp. b is the third lever. (Shown in Fig. 6.) It is made from the blank I), Fig. 8, and is provided with teeth at both ends, one set of teeth being bent in one direction and the other set in the other direction. It also has ears 0 0 but its ears, instead of both being bent in the same direction, as is the casein the levers a a, are bent one in one direction and one in the other, as shown in Fig. 6, and its teeth mesh with the teeth in pieces a and a, thus forming two sets of griping-jaws. The lover I) is also provided with the hole 0 in which set the springs f f. Each one of the ears 0 0 as well as each one of the ears 0 c of the pieces a a, has a hole in it, through which passes the pin d.

It is obvious that the ears 0' 0 may both be bent in the same direction; but the clasp so formed, although embodying my invention, would not be so compact as that shown.

The pin (1 keeps these three levers in a proper relation to each other, and acts as the fulcrum for all three.

The clasp is provided with two springs, ff, set in the hole 0 in the lover I), as shown, and through which the pin (1 passes, one, f, having its ends extended between the rear end of piece a and the piece b, so as to keep the jaws formed by (a and I) together, and the other,j'", having its ends extended between the rear end of piece a and the piece I), to keep the jaws formed by a and I) together, this being the best mode of attaining that result. These springs, if small, will be kept in place by the pin (1; but if as large, compared with the size of the clasp, as those shown in the drawings, they will be best kept in place by the use of a piece of sheet metal of the shape of a cylinder, having a diameter a little smaller than that of the springs, arranged as shown at g, Fig. 3. g, Fig. 10, shows the blank from which the cylinder is made. I

If itis desired, comparatively large springs may be used in this clasp, without increasing its size materially, by cutting holes in the pieces a a, so that the springs may project laterally through them, as shown in the drawings.

The clasp above described isvery simple and compact, and is intended to be used instead of two separate clasps connected together by webbing.

\Vhat I claim as my invention is- The double clasp above described, consisting of the three levers a, a, and I), hinged together by the pin (1, one end of I) acting with (b to form one pair of griping-jaws, and the other end of b acting with a to form a second pair of gri pin g-jaws, snbstantiall y as described.

1*. BARTON BROWN.

Witnesses:

J. E. MAYNADIER, GEORGE O. G. OOALE. 

